From face-to-face to virtual teams: work organization during the Covid-19 pandemic

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mauro Enrique Carozzo-Todaro ◽  
Nádia Prazeres Pinheiro-Carozzo ◽  
Andreza De Souza Machado
Keyword(s):  
Organizational Behavior ◽  
Virtual Teams ◽  
Work Teams ◽  
Work Organization ◽  
Real Data ◽  
Team Development ◽  
Remote Work ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Teaching Goals ◽  
Data Source

Context: Work teams in the Human Resources and Financial Department of a large consumer goods company needed to reorganize and adapt themselves to the compulsory remote work imposed by the Covid-19 pandemic. Through daily online meetings, they interacted, learned to deal with the new scenario, perceived difficulties, and found opportunities. Now, they are facing uncertainty about to what extent this work organization will be maintained in the medium-  and long-term. Teaching goals: Analyze the characteristics of the work-teams, reflect on the factors that facilitated and hindered the performance of virtual teams, and assess the challenges faced by the virtual teams created on a compulsory basis. The case generates reflection about face-to-face and virtual teamwork, as well as on barriers, facilitators, and challenges for the implementation of remote work, which enables fostering competencies and skills of recognition, definition, and resolution of problems, strategic thinking, and proposals for changes in work organization. As it presents different contexts and opinions, sometimes contradictories, careful referrals are required. Data source: The case is based on real data obtained through an electronic questionnaire sent to employees in June 2020. The name of the company was kept confidential. Although real speeches, characters, and their interaction are fictional. Applicability: It can be used as a teaching tool in modules related to Human Resource Management, Organizational Behavior, and Team Development, present in postgraduate courses. Teaching notes establish educational objectives, recommended use of the case, lesson planning, and guiding questions for discussion in class. Keywords: teaching case; teamwork; virtual teams; organizational behavior; Covid-19

scholarly journals Developing Teams in a Virtual Environment: A Generative Approach

2021 ◽  
pp. 002188632110538
Author(s):  
Ignacio Pavez ◽  
Ernesto Neves
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Environments ◽  
Virtual Environment ◽  
Development Process ◽  
Team Development ◽  
Remote Work ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Organic Growth ◽  
Generative Leadership ◽  
Generative Approach ◽  
Powerful Strategy

At the beginning of 2020, the operations of the Finance Hub of the Americas (FHoA) at pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) were suddenly forced to shift entirely from face-to-face to remote work. To handle this challenge, an FHoA team started a team development process aimed at strengthening teamwork in virtual environments. The intervention was grounded in the principles of generative leadership and dialogic organization development. Through a scholar-practitioner collaboration that focused on identifying the drivers of the successful transition to remote work, we build a three-step process of team development using the metaphor of organic growth: (1) sowing, (2) nurturing, and (3) flourishing. Using GSK's example, we illustrate how this process became a simple but powerful strategy to help teams thrive in a virtual environment. The core of the process uses generative questions to configure a structured but adaptable process that can be easily implemented in different contexts and situations.

Temporary Virtual Teams

2011 ◽  
pp. 1438-1460
Author(s):  
Stacey L. Connaughton ◽  
Elizabeth A. Williams ◽  
Jennifer S. Linvill ◽  
Elizabeth J. O’Connor ◽  
Troy Hayes
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Teams ◽  
Business Intelligence ◽  
Research Agenda ◽  
Prior Experience ◽  
Virtual Team ◽  
Team Development ◽  
Team Members ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Team Experience

Temporary virtual teams are common organizing forms across industries and sectors, and their members often span national, functional, and other boundaries. Many times temporary virtual team members have no prior experience working with one another, may seldom if ever meet face-to-face, and may never work together again, thus team development may occur differently than it does in long-term or in tact teams. Yet little is known about the development of temporary virtual teams and the process challenges therein. The purpose of this chapter is to contribute to this body of research by revealing how individuals who are members of a temporary virtual team experience team development. Specifically, this chapter (a) reviews two often-cited models of team development and discusses the limited body of research on virtual team development; (b) presents findings from a study of one organization’s business intelligence teams that were temporary, virtual, and global in nature; and (c) advances a research agenda for scholars in this area and recommendations to practitioners who are working in these contexts.

Temporary Virtual Teams

2010 ◽  
pp. 123-145
Author(s):  
Stacey L. Connaughton ◽  
Elizabeth A. Williams ◽  
Jennifer S. Linvill ◽  
Elizabeth J. O’Connor ◽  
Troy Hayes
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Teams ◽  
Business Intelligence ◽  
Research Agenda ◽  
Prior Experience ◽  
Virtual Team ◽  
Team Development ◽  
Team Members ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Team Experience

Temporary virtual teams are common organizing forms across industries and sectors, and their members often span national, functional, and other boundaries. Many times temporary virtual team members have no prior experience working with one another, may seldom if ever meet face-to-face, and may never work together again, thus team development may occur differently than it does in long-term or in tact teams. Yet little is known about the development of temporary virtual teams and the process challenges therein. The purpose of this chapter is to contribute to this body of research by revealing how individuals who are members of a temporary virtual team experience team development. Specifically, this chapter (a) reviews two often-cited models of team development and discusses the limited body of research on virtual team development; (b) presents findings from a study of one organization’s business intelligence teams that were temporary, virtual, and global in nature; and (c) advances a research agenda for scholars in this area and recommendations to practitioners who are working in these contexts.

Artificial Intelligence Supported Non-Verbal Communication for Enriched Collaboration in Distributed E-Research Environments

2012 ◽  
pp. 135-164 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul Smith ◽  
Sam Redfern
Keyword(s):  
Artificial Intelligence ◽  
Virtual Teams ◽  
Initial Study ◽  
Expression Recognition ◽  
Emotional States ◽  
Remote Work ◽  
Team Members ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Innovative Solution ◽  
Impaired Awareness

In face-to-face work, discussion and negotiation relies strongly on non-verbal feedback, which provides important clues to negotiation states such as agreement/disagreement and understanding/confusion, as well as indicating the emotional states and reactions of those around us. With the continued rise of virtual teams, collaboration increasingly requires tools to manage the reality of distributed e-research and remote work, which is often hampered by a lack of social cohesion and such phenomena as participant multitasking. This chapter discusses important concepts and current issues related to remote research teams and discusses current research in the use of Automatic Facial Expression Recognition Systems (AFERS) in solving some of the inherent problems of the existing online collaboration tools used to support collaborative and distributed research and work. The later half of this chapter describes a proof-of-concept artificial intelligence based software agent (Emotion Tracking Agent, or ETA) developed by the authors for the monitoring of presence and the emotional states of co-workers in virtual research meetings. The agent is intended as an innovative solution to the impaired awareness and attention resulting from continuous task switching or multitasking behaviours of collaborating remote team members. The ETA was developed and integrated into a CVE (Collaborative Virtual Environment), where an initial study was conducted to analyse its benefits and impact on the communicating participants. This chapter describes the results of this study and their implications for the future of distributed e-research and remote work.

scholarly journals How May Virtual Communication Shape Cooperation in a Work Team?

2004 ◽  
Vol 26 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Andreas Flache
Keyword(s):  
Social Relationships ◽  
Work Teams ◽  
Work Team ◽  
Online Interaction ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Virtual Communication ◽  
Team Members ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Interaction Task ◽  
Simulation Results

AbstractThis paper addresses theoretically the question how virtual communication may affect cooperation in work teams. The degree of team virtualization, i.e. the extent to which interaction between team members occurs online, is related to parameters of the exchange. First, it is assumed that in online interaction task uncertainties are higher than in face-to-face contacts. Second, the gratifying value of peer rewards is assumed to be lower in online contacts. Thirdly, it is assumed that teams are different in the extent to which members depend on their peers for positive affections, operationalized by the extent to which team members are interested in social relationships for their own sake, independently from their work interactions. Simulation results suggest both positive and negative effects of team virtualization on work-cooperation.

From technical to non-technical skills among information systems suppliers

2017 ◽  
Vol 30 (2) ◽  
pp. 320-334 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bénédicte Branchet ◽  
Pierre-Yves Sanseau
Keyword(s):  
Information Systems ◽  
Business Models ◽  
Work Organization ◽  
Technical Skills ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Key Skills ◽  
Critical Skills ◽  
Education And Society ◽  
Is Outsourcing

Purpose Existing research infers that in the information systems (IS) and information technology (IT) fields, a shift may occur between technical and non-technical skills. However, relatively little research has focused on going changes in terms of key skills in the IS suppliers sector. The purpose of this paper is to address this gap by investigating these skills evolution in the IS suppliers domain and discusses their impacts on IS and IT curricula. Design/methodology/approach This paper uses a qualitative method based on 15 semi-structured face-to-face interviews, with highly dedicated operational managers in senior positions in the field. Findings This study identifies, for the IS suppliers, the critical skills, which are basically non-technical, and peripheral skills, which are primarily technical. It then considers the consequences of this change and the necessary adaptations it requires for businesses and training for this field. Practical implications The findings suggest the need to redesign the educational curricula for future managers, and the adaptations required to the work organization, human resource management and business models of firms in the field. Originality/value The paper’s value is twofold. First, it focuses on IS service suppliers, an understudied area (most research examines IS outsourcing from the customer’s standpoint); second, it reveals the shift away from technical toward non-technical skills in a field that is intrinsically technical – a change that may occur more slowly than in other less technical sectors – and the consequences of this change for firms, education and society.

scholarly journals The power of individual cultural values in global virtual teams

2012 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 193-210 ◽  
Author(s):  
Audra I. Mockaitis ◽  
Elizabeth L. Rose ◽  
Peter Zettinig
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Values ◽  
Cultural Differences ◽  
Virtual Teams ◽  
Virtual Team ◽  
Global Teams ◽  
Global Virtual Teams ◽  
Team Processes ◽  
Team Members ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
The Relationship

This paper investigates the perceptions of members of 43 culturally diverse global virtual teams, with respect to team processes and outcomes. Despite widespread acknowledgement of the challenges presented by cultural differences in the context of global teams, little is known about the effect of these differences on team dynamics in the absence of face-to-face interaction. Using a student-based sample, we study the relationship between global virtual team members’ individualistic and collectivistic orientations and their evaluations of trust, interdependence, communication and information sharing, and conflict during the team task. Our results suggest that a collectivist orientation is associated with more favorable impressions regarding global virtual team processes and that cultural differences are not concealed by virtual means of communication.

Learning together and working apart: routines for organizational learning in virtual teams

2017 ◽  
Vol 24 (3) ◽  
pp. 138-149 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nancy Dixon
Keyword(s):  
Organizational Learning ◽  
Virtual Teams ◽  
Virtual Team ◽  
Critical Issue ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Information Industry ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Virtual Teaming

Purpose Research suggests that teaming routines facilitate learning in teams. This paper identifies and details how specific teaming routines, implemented in a virtual team, support its continual learning. The study’s focus was to generate authentic and descriptive accounts of the interviewees’ experiences with virtual teaming routines. Design/methodology/approach This case study gathered concrete, practical and context-dependent knowledge about virtual teaming routines in a specific environment. The main source of data was narrative expert interviews with working members of the team. Findings This study illustrates how a mix of face-to-face and virtual routines can ensure organizational learning in virtual teams. Research limitations/implications This case study is limited to one virtual team in the information industry. Future research could build on this research to study virtual teams in other industries. Practical implications This research offers specific examples of teaming routines that managers of virtual teams might adapt in managing their own teams. Social implications Given that the use of virtual teams is a growing phenomenon, understanding how to help those teams learn effectively is a critical issue. Originality/value This case study extends the research on teaming routines to virtual teams.

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